Trance and Possession: Are They The Same?

Abstract

An argument is made for the unthreading of two separate, if commonly intertwined, elements of spirit possession prac tices. The term "trance-possession" is frequently employed to designate either of these concepts, implying that trance and possession are essentially synonymous in nature. Yet the psychophysiologically altered states of consciousness known as trance constitute something fundamentally different from cultural beliefs and practices concerning possession. Although some researchers have noted this distinction, many writers on possession typically, if inadvertently, contribute to clouding the issue. Such confusion reinforces the commonly-held as sumption by lay persons and others that a culturally-defined state of possession must, de facto, indicate the presence of a physiologically altered state. The juxtaposition and integration of psychophysiological analyses of trance phenomena with ethnographic interpretations of spirit possession constitutes a fruitful area for further investigation.